8 Colts Superlatives Before the Season Starts

Week 1 of the NFL season is finally here. After months of speculation and offseason highlights, the games finally matter starting this weekend. The Indianapolis Colts square off in a massive AFC bout with the Baltimore Ravens to kick off their 2026 season. 

Before the season really gets going, let’s take one last big-picture look at the team. Today, I'll dive into some superlatives (or predictions) about the Colts for this upcoming season.

Daniel Jones

Starting off with a bit of an obvious one, as most teams would say that they need the quarterback to be the offensive MVP if they hope to have any sort of sustained success. For the Colts specifically, a healthy Daniel Jones goes a long way.

In the first 10 weeks of the season, prior to the fibula injury, the Colts averaged a whopping 32.1 points per game, including 29.5 against top-10 defenses.  In the two games with Jones hampered by the fibula injury, the team averaged just 18 points per game. Without Jones starting and finishing the game, the Colts averaged just over 21 points per game.

The offense clearly suffered without QB1 in the lineup last year, and the top priority for this season is getting him through all 17 games healthy. If that happens, the team has a very good chance to make the playoffs. 

DeForest Buckner

The 32-year-old defensive tackle is coming off of one of his more disappointing seasons in the league, playing in just 10 games and having near-career lows across the board statistically. The Colts desperately need a fully rejuvenated DeForest Buckner for this defense in 2026, or the pass rush could be in trouble. This scheme is designed around his ability to win his matchups in obvious passing situations, and the Colts will rely heavily on his skill set to disrupt opposing quarterbacks. 

For what it’s worth, Buckner looked incredible this summer in limited reps and appears to still have his fastball as a pass rusher. If he can look like he did a couple of years ago and really hit his stride, the Colts’ defense has a chance to be really good with this secondary. In some sense, the success of the Colts’ defense this season comes down to whether or not Buckner still has it as a pass rusher, and I’m willing to bet on the former All-Pro. 

Camryn Bynum 

Alec Pierce and Jones were both in consideration for this honor, but I’m going to lean toward Camryn Bynum this year. Bynum was a Pro Bowl alternate last season with a career-high four interceptions on the back end. He was the safety net of the Colts’ defense in his first year with the team, and his responsibilities are expected to grow even more as he takes on the green dot and earns a defensive captaincy this season.

Bynum was already knocking at the door of a Pro Bowl last season, which means that his name is out there among likely voters. If he puts together another strong season and the Colts can string together a bit more team success, then Bynum should be able to crack the honors list for the first time in his career. 

Cam Taylor-Britt

Jalen Farmer and Hunter Wohler also deserve recognition here, but Cam Taylor-Britt could be one of the more impactful non-QB backups in the league this season. The Colts’ reserve cornerbacks last season were a rotating disaster in waiting, as each player struggled to fill in for the injured Justin Walley, Mooney Ward, and eventually Sauce Gardner. Now all three are back and expected to start, but who knows when a reserve will step in and fill their shoes. 

Taylor-Britt is not only the next best option at outside corner, but he also spent a lot of time this offseason playing in the slot. He’s added versatility to his game, he has the trust of Lou Anarumo, and he’s even made some plays in the punt game as a gunner. Taylor-Britt may not be starting this season, but number 29 will likely be seen quite a bit by Colts fans in 2026. 

Alec Pierce

It’s hard to call a player underrated when they are making nearly $30 million per year on their second contract, but this offseason has led to some weird takes on the star receiver. Despite breaking 1,000 yards receiving last year and leading the NFL in yards per target in each of the last two seasons, Pierce has drawn a lot of ire from people over his massive second contract. 

He has been one of the better receivers in the league over the last two seasons, and now the Colts have to target him more to prove their investment from this past offseason. To me, that sounds like a recipe for success for the Colts and Pierce. Pierce should see well over 100 targets for the first time in his career, and I expect him to put up some monster numbers in this offense. Pierce is a bona fide top-20 receiver in the league, and he should finally earn the praise he deserves following this season. 

Run Defense

It feels weird to be so negative on an aspect that was a strength for the Colts last season; they ranked 11th in EPA/rush allowed in 2025, but I have some major concerns up front this year. Germaine Pratt and Zaire Franklin, for all of their flaws, were two explosive linebackers that could thump a bit in the run game. They may have been inconsistent, but they could also provide strong stretches. Replacing them, at least to start the year, will be Akeem Davis-Gaither and Jaylon Carlies, two players built more like safeties than linebackers, with their thin frames and play styles. 

If kept clean, these two should be upgrades over the former duo, but it will be hard to keep them clean with some of the players in the rotation. Backup nose tackle Jerry Tillery has been a traffic cone in run defense his entire career, second-year edge rusher Jaylahn Tuimoloau was getting run over by tight ends in the preseason (because he was so gassed, I guess), and Adetomiwa Adebawore and Arden Key have been relatively shaky in this regard in the past. 

The Colts’ pass defense should be much improved this season, but their run defense could truly sink them early due to some weaknesses up front. 

Jonathan Taylor and the Run Game

Now, I preface this by saying that I don’t expect Jonathan Taylor to finish with substantially fewer rushing yards in 2026 or anything; it's more that the rushing attack that we saw early last season simply isn’t repeatable. The Colts got off to an historic pace running the ball early last season, posting an EPA per play of 0.196. For proper context, that surpasses some of the best rushing offenses in recent memory, like the 2020 Ravens with MVP Lamar Jackson (0.093 EPA per play) or the 2024 Saquon Barkley-led Philadelphia Eagles (0.056). 

The most unsustainable aspect of the Colts’ early-season play from last year was their running game, and it would be foolish to expect any sort of return to that level of dominance. They should still finish around top 5-10 in the league as a team, but again, that would be a major step back from the pace the Colts were on to start last season. 

Justin Walley

Justin Walley was my favorite draft pick in the Colts' 2025 class, and he has been phenomenal through two training camps with the team. An unfortunate injury last August robbed us of watching him as a rookie, but he appears to have picked up right where he left off last year. He’s now making the move inside to slot corner, and his speed, tenacity, and ball skills should all shine in this new role. 

Walley may not earn Pro Bowl notoriety this upcoming season, because that’s largely a popularity contest, but he’s going to be an excellent pro. Everything about his game translates to the league, and he’ll make a major impact for the team this season. Keep an eye on this young player in 2026, as he grows into one of the best young players in the organization.